1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a slide door device that opens and closes a door opening formed in a fuselage of an aircraft.
2. Description of the Related Art
In order to guide a slide door that opens/closes a door opening of a cargo compartment provided inside the fuselage of an aircraft, a known slide door device, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2005-178770, includes an upper guide rail provided along an upper edge of the door opening, a lower guide rail provided along a lower edge of the door opening with a center guide rail provided along an outer surface of the fuselage. This type of slide door device causes a slide door that protrudes to the outside of the aircraft body to slide along the outer surface of the fuselage along the three guide rails.
However, according to the aforementioned conventional slide door device, since guide rails are provided along the outer surface of the fuselage, not only is there a problem that air resistance is increased by the guide rails, but also there is a possibility that it may not be possible to perform a smooth opening and closing of the slide door due to freezing or the like of the guide rails.